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Marko (A Story)

A hooded man sat at a small rotund table in the back corner of a rundown tavern, slowly nursing a heavy tankard of beer as he watched the door with narrow eyes. He ignored the rest of the tavern’s drunken patrons and stayed focused on the door, as if he was expecting someone.

He didn’t have to wait long. The wooden door suddenly slammed open as a heavily armored man waltzed into the tavern, flanked by four other armored men. The tavern fell silent and watched cautiously as the customers immediately recognized the man. He smirked and snapped his fingers, a sound that resonated through the silent walls of the small place.

The owner of the tavern, who had been watching the proceedings slack-jawed, rushed forward from the patron that he had been talking to, and bowed his head to the man.

“C-captain Marko, what an honor it is! How may my humble tavern be of service to you and your men?” He asked, clearly nervous.

Captain Marko’s smirk grew even wider. “Fool, do you really think that we would want your pigslop when we have the King’s kitchen at our disposal? Don’t kid yourself.” He laughed at this, a harsh guffaw that rang loudly through the small building. He then beckoned to his men and then stepped forward, grinning.

“This is our place now, it is no longer your tavern. Get your filthy customers out of here before we arrest all of you rats for failure to comply to our demands.” The captain said and slammed a nearby table with his meaty fist, sending its contents spilling to the ground.

“S-sir? Why would you want a broken place like this?” The owner asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“Hmph! The nerve of you to question my motives. Very well, I’ll tell you.” Marko leaned into the owner’s face and grinned menacingly, “Your tavern will now serve as my dungeon, a dismal hellhole for the prisoners that I want to suffer the most. A place like this, in the middle of nowhere, is perfect, don’t you think?” He asked, drawing his sword and holding it under the owner’s chin in a taunting manner.

“Hey!” A voice called out and a collective intake of breath could be heard throughout the tavern. Marko straightened up and looked for the voice while the owner sagged to the ground, fear immobilizing him. Even drunk, many knew that it was not a good idea to mess with Captain Marko, who was known for his corrupt and cruel treatment of his fellow man.

The captain of the Oxin Kingdom’s guard, he was one of the most powerful men in the entire kingdom, next to the king and his council. This power gave him the ability to do whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted, including imprisonment and torture that even the most battle-hardened warrior would shy away from.

“Hey!” The voice came again and a young boy stood up. He wasn’t drunk and he definitely wasn’t stupid for he had a glint in his sharp eyes that any child could tell was the glint of a man of intelligence. “You can’t take away a man’s livelihood like that!” He called out, stepping towards Captain Marko.

“Ah, seems we have a man of justice in our midst!” Marko exclaimed and his fellow guards laughed.

“You shouldn’t take away someone’s home for your own purposes!” The boy said again, spreading his arms. “It’s not fair to him and his family!”

Marko just grinned. Suddenly he was standing right next to the boy and drove his metal covered fist into the boy’s stomach, breaking a couple of the boy’s ribs and sending him to his feet, coughing and spitting, tears running down his face and pooling onto the rough dirt of the tavern floor. The guards continued to laugh as Marko gestured at the onlookers. “Guess we have our first prisoner.” He snickered and then looked at the remaining patrons. “Now get out!”

The guards stepped to the side as the rest of the customers began to scramble for the door, climbing over each other in frenzied panic. After a few minutes, everyone was out the door except for the hooded man, who had been watching the proceedings from his corner of the room, expressionless. As he slowly made his way past Captain Marko and his men towards the door, he caught Marko’s eye and Marko could feel his bones turn to lead. Few things scared the captain but the hooded man’s eyes had immediately sucked the warmth from his body and he couldn’t move. The hooded man’s lips moved but no words came out and as the door closed behind the hooded man, Marko could swear he had heard a low and raspy whisper.